Martin and Chaosgraphy finally broke eye contact and decided to use the area near Robert’s smithy to spar.
It was perfect for sparring. Tucked away from the academy paths, with a quiet riverbank for Ao Tenshin and a calm hush in the air, it felt cut off from the rest of the world.
The river moved with a soft, steady murmur, while faint heat drifted from the smithy behind them, carrying the sll of hot tal and scorched stone. There were no curious eyes, no crowd, just enough open space for steel and ego to clash freely.
Returning there so soon felt a little strange to Martin.
He decided to ask Robert if it would be too much trouble for them to spar there, but the blacksmith only looked at him for a second before breaking into laughter.
"Back already?" Robert asked, wiping one hand on his apron. "Man, at this rate, you’re going to start paying rent around here."
Beside him, Scunko froze with a half-eaten fire mushroom in his tiny paws and stared at Martin with round, glowing eyes. Then the little fire beast slowly narrowed them, as if silently accusing him of disturbing the workshop’s peace twice in one day.
Martin almost laughed at the pair of them. One tall blacksmith and one tiny fla-covered creature, both looking at him like he was so suspicious repeat custor.
"We just need so space for a spar," Martin said. "Sorry for showing up again so soon."
Robert snorted. "I don’t mind. Just don’t tear up the place or ss up everything around my smithy."
At that, Scunko clutched the mushroom to his chest and gave Martin a sharp little squeak, as if personally reinforcing the warning.
Martin grinned, knowing those mushrooms were both Scunko’s favorite snacks and the fuel the little fire beast needed for work. He nodded. "Thanks, and sorry, Robert."
"Don’t worry, man," Robert said with another laugh.
anwhile, the other girls looked around at the scenery. It was just as calming as Martin had said.
Kill Clause, in particular, let so of the tension slip from her shoulders as she drifted toward a nearby tree and rested against it, the curve of her hips and ass settling into the bark with composed ease.
The raw quiet of the place, the river, the trees, and the distance from the academy’s noise all suited her far better than polished halls and crowded paths.
NukEncore said, "Martin really pays attention to his relationships with NPCs. He’s about as perfect a guildmate as you could ask for."
Kill Clause needed only a glance to understand what NukEncore ant.
"The sooner players understand that NPCs are not what they assu, the better. Those people hold influence, and influence is ant to be used."
"Hmmm," NukEncore humd.
Kill Clause kept one shoulder against the tree and turned only her eyes toward NukEncore. "For instance, none of us can scale the Light Tree. It is not just a matter of strength or the academy’s customs. But surely you have already noticed how magical and beautiful that tree is."
"Yep, it is pretty," NukEncore nodded. "I thought you’d see money instead of leaves."
"Because that is the sensible way to look at it." Kill Clause let her head tilt a fraction, her gaze sharpening with cool, predatory amusent. "Imagine a concert atop that Light Tree, with a singer like a Forest Diva while every player, online and in-ga alike, can do nothing but look up and admire her. That is money, NukEncore."
NukEncore barely heard the last part. In her mind, she was already standing at the top of the Light Tree with the whole academy looking up at her. Players, NPCs, and even beasts would stop and stare, drawn in by her voice, her beauty, her presence.
She could almost see it: light pouring around her like a spotlight, the academy below turning still for her first note, and hundreds of eyes fixed on her and nowhere else.
The thought sent a sharp thrill through her chest.
It was not the childhood dream she had once chased, but it was still another dazzling version of herself. It was not just about being admired, but about seizing the world’s attention and keeping it there in the palm of her hand.
In the real world, music and beauty were her superpowers.
NukEncore drew her arms beneath her chest and lifted her chin, her whole posture brightening with greedy excitent. "Mhm. I see it now. I really do need to grind this ga."
"Indeed." Kill Clause nodded. "For money."
"To be the star," NukEncore added.
The two held each other’s gaze for a mont, ambition flashing between them in very different forms.
Still resting against the tree, Kill Clause let one brow rise. "You must have a good manager."
"Mhm. Rias is the best." NukEncore crossed her arms beneath her chest and gave a smug little toss of her hair, as if Rias belonged to her alone.
Just then, Martin stepped out of the smithy and walked over to Chaosgraphy. She was already warming up, her twin blades flicking through the air with crisp, practiced precision. Each swing looked light, yet the edges still cut sharply enough to make the air whisper around them.
There was sothing unfairly cool about the way she moved, sharp, relaxed, and completely sure of herself. Martin could appreciate how beautiful she looked doing it, but what pulled at him even more was the proof beneath that beauty. Those smooth motions had been earned through practice, and sohow that only made her harder to look away from.
His grip tightened around the spear. Being tested by Chaos was one thing, but looking clumsy in front of her was another.
Martin stopped across from her and raised his shield and spear. The shaft still felt a little too new in his hand, familiar enough to use, but not yet familiar enough to trust.
"I’ve been drilling spear moves all day, and my muscles are still burning from it. I’ll start with that combination," he told his rival.
Chaosgraphy looked him over from head to toe, lingering just long enough on the shield and spear to make him feel asured. Then she slid into stance with one leg forward, her hips angled just enough to make the strong line of her thighs impossible to ignore. The playful edge in her face did not disappear, but it settled into sothing quieter and more dangerous. "Sure. But don’t expect to go easy on you just because that spear is still new in your hands. Show a weakness, and I’ll make you pay for it."
She smirked as she said it, practically handing Martin her ga plan as if daring him to answer in kind. It was shaless, theatrical, and completely her. Of course, against real enemies, Chaosgraphy would act differently.
Martin smiled back. "Then I guess I’ll have to make you feel it properly."
The innuendo in his voice was enough to make NukEncore pout and Kill Clause lightly shake her head. Chaos, on the other hand, laughed low and pleased, like she had been hoping he would answer her properly.
"If you manage to do that, I’ll give you a lap pillow," Chaos said. She shifted her weight just enough for the full curve of her thighs to tighten against her stance, firm and inviting in a way that made his eyes betray him for half a second. Then she caught that glance and smiled like she had set a trap on purpose.
For one reckless instant, Martin imagined sinking into her lap, warmth, softness, and those thick thighs closing around his head while she looked down at him with that sa smug smile. The image hit him hard enough that his grip on the spear tightened before he could stop it.
The river kept murmuring beside them, and the smithy’s heat brushed at his back. For one taut second, the whole training ground seed to narrow around the two of them.
NukEncore’s pout deepened as she crossed her arms beneath her chest, her whole posture only making it more obvious how stubbornly cute she looked. "I was going to cheer for Martin, but!" She took a deep breath and shouted, "Go, go, go, Chaos! Show him why you’re our best lee DPS!"
Kill Clause lifted two fingers to her lips, still lounging against the tree, and let out a faint, knowing chuckle.
She is like an open book right now.
Kill Clause turned her attention back to the coming spar. She knew the strengths and weaknesses of both Martin’s and Chaosgraphy’s classes and fighting styles well enough to see the shape of the match before it even began.
Martin had the reach and shield to control space, but the spear was still too new in his hands. Chaosgraphy lacked that sa defensive security, yet her twin blades, footwork, and killer instinct made her far more dangerous the mont soone gave her an opening.
This would not be a gentle practice match, but a test, and whoever seized the pace first would make the other suffer for it.
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